Random musings on life, society, and politics

“So what do you wish to declare as your religion?” the customs officer said.” Here in this country, as you know, we offer freedom of religion to all citizens.”

“And what about freedom from religion?” I asked.

“What do you mean by freedom from religion?” he asked.

“I mean that I have no religion to declare,” I responded.

“Are you saying that you have no faith?” he asked, giving me a bewildered look.

“Oh no, that’s not at all what I’m saying,” I said. “I have faith, but not in religion and not in God.”

“So who do you pray to, then?”

“I don’t pray.”

“That’s blasphemous, sir,” the visibly angry officer said.

“Listen, I know I’ve been out of the country for more than a decade and that a lot has changed since then, but our forefathers fought and died so that we could exercise our right to freedom of religion, including the right not to practice any religion at all, without interference from the government,” I said. “Are you telling me that their fight for that freedom was in vain, that it means nothing anymore?”

“I’m telling you,” he said, “that after the revolution of 2023, when the Constitution II was ratified two years later, our country was declared to be a Christian Nation, and while some minor non-Christian religions are still tolerated, agnosticism and atheism are against the law and against the natural order.

I looked at him and said, “So I cannot return to my country unless I declare my religion to be Christian?”

“Yes,” he said. “The official state religion is Christianity and you are free to declare yourself to be a member any of the approved Christian sects. That is the blessing bestowed upon us by the Supreme Leader of Trumplandia, Queen Ivanka.”

Written for yesterday’s Daily Writing Challenge from Teresa, The Haunted Wordsmith. The three words to use are faith, fight, and freedom. And yes, I know I’m a day late, but I had things to do, places to go, and people to see yesterday.

And, FWIW, I don’t consider you, or anyone else who is a person of faith, to be a “bad guy.” I only consider to be bad guys those who try to impose their faith upon others, or who place the Bible above the Constitution because they believe the U.S. is a Christian nation.

I just remembered I’ve written two pieces (rather than one piece) of flash fiction in response to your prompts and shared questions [your own questions or questions from others]. In one of them, I had a daughter of Trump change her name, which she was doing for a purpose to gain position. It could have been either daughter; they just have the stench of corruption for being in his life and following his lead (really all of his kids do, except we could give the youngest the benefit of the doubt — while his mother doesn’t engender a bright outlook for him when she backs stupid things her husband says). I went with Tiffany because most people forget about her. The only hope for Ivanka is if she’s an inside informer (double agent sort of person). Fiction?

And figs to thaw… 😉 Wonderful story…chilling as hell, but wonderful. On that day, the day of the Trumplandia (which could be realized, you know this)…I hope I can find that source of arsenic or cyanide. Because I’d rather die. And members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints aren’t ‘christian’ either (despite the obvious name IN the darn handle). Just ask any good upstanding bible belt practitioner. I wonder if they’ll round up the non-believers (any religion that isn’t Christian) and throw us in those camps, like we did to the Japanese in WWII…… as I said. Chilling.

Fandango, if the events, or even similar ones, depicted in this story ever come to pass, I’m holding you personally responsible and subjecting you to suitable punishment, even if I have to exhume your corpse or reconstitute your ashes if that was your burial preference.

There are right wingers who are
planning to ruin our country,
and they’re somehow clever enough
to get followers to believe it isn’t they doing the ruining.

For instance, another blogger I have regularly read started bringing up
the idea of a civil war. This came from like who knows where, but he latched on.
And he certainly, because he blames “the left” for everything, faulted “the left.”